The Last Charge

by Jason M. Hardy

  As he walked through the quiet town, voices came over his comm. “Star Colonel, this is Omega Two. I have spotted the First Hesperus Guards.”

  “Where are they?”

  “South of the city.”

  “Heading and speed?”

  “Due north for the most part, but slow. Around thirty kilometers per hour. One company is lagging and moving off to the west of the main body.”

  “Keep your eye on that company. Fly a bit ahead of them, see what is in their path, then double back and make sure they have not changed their heading.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The speed of the duke’s units surprised him. He thought Vedet would be making a more aggressive move toward the city, treating the battle as a footrace to the palace. Alaric had even been hoping that would be the case: he believed the defenders would have enough strength to repel a charge by Vedet, and he hoped to take advantage of the false confidence the Marik troops would feel from repulsing one part of the enemy force early on. But if Vedet was traveling as slowly as the scout plane said, Alaric would beat him to the city. So would Roderick Steiner. Whatever Vedet knew, whatever he was after, was over there with him. Alaric just needed his planes to see it.

  It did not take long.

  “Star Colonel, this is Omega Two. There is a tarmac approximately thirty kilometers north of the breakaway company with a hangar next to it. Both are large enough for a DropShip and look fairly new.”

  That was it, then. Simple enough. Vedet was not racing to get Anson Marik because he obviously thought Anson Marik would come to him.

  “Omega One, Two and Three, you need to stay near the First Hesperus Guards until I tell you otherwise. Keep a careful eye on any roads leading to the tarmac. Omega Four and Five, while you are watching the palace, watch any routes leading south. When Marik leaves, he will be going south.”

  The chorus of “Yes, sir” was prompt and crisp. As it should be.

  26

  DropShip LCS Arm of Hesperus

  Above Stewart

  5 June 3138

  Trillian shouldn’t be in the DropShip anymore. The craft had landed, and everyone else was out of the ship and on their way to New Edinburgh. The battle was going to be starting, and unless she got out of the ship she was going to miss it. But she couldn’t find Klaus, and she was too used to bouncing ideas off him to watch the battle without him. But she couldn’t find him anywhere.

  She’d seen him just recently too. She’d been using him as a sounding board for negotiating the relationship between Roderick and Vedet. At the time she’d noticed that he’d been acting a little distant, but he’d continued to be his usual invaluable self. Now that she was ready to get down to serious business, Klaus was nowhere to be found.

  She couldn’t wait any longer. She’d left several messages on his comm, checked his berth a half dozen times and looked in all the common areas she could think of. He wasn’t there, and no one could remember the last time they’d seen him.

  She had to get out. If it meant going without Klaus, then she was going without Klaus.

  * * *

  Once Trillian was on the ground, she found Roderick’s troops easily enough, mainly because he was the only commander who bothered to talk her in over the comm. He was moving slowly, which made him easy to catch. Because Trillian was in only a lightly armored vehicle, she stayed well back of his lines—she couldn’t afford to catch so much as a single stray shell. But all she really needed to do was get within scanner range. Once she could see the movement of the units for herself, she’d be able to make sense of a piece of the battle without having to rely on the commanders.

  Roderick’s troops were moving slowly and carefully, not in any rush to charge into the outskirts of New Edinburgh. Trillian drove near the rear of his lines, then stopped the engine rather than slowing to a crawl or serpentining back and forth while the troops advanced. This gave her more time to sit and stare at her scanner, which showed her nothing.

  She kept this up for a good hour before a voice came over her comm.

  “Lady Steiner, I’m told you are using this channel for personal communication. Is that correct?’

  Trillian stared at the speaker. Who was that? Then she recognized the voice—it was Vedet, of course. He’d lost a certain edge to his voice, that rough aggression she’d always heard. Maybe, when he was about to act violent, he temporarily lost the need to talk violent.

  “That’s correct,” Trillian said.

  “I understand you’re currently behind the First Steiner Strikers.”

  “That’s right,” she said, and cursed Roderick for passing along information about her to Vedet.

  “I think you’ll find that you want to be watching my troops—things will get interesting there before the battle is over.”

  “What kind of interesting?”

  “I’m afraid it wouldn’t be wise for me to offer any more details at the moment. I’m doing you a favor, Lady Steiner, by telling you this. What you decide to do with my generosity is up to you.”

  “Thanks. Where are you?”

  “West-southwest of your position. Travel that direction for about fifty kilometers, then tell me where you are. I’ll guide you to where you need to be.”

  She looked west-southwest and saw nothing but the outskirts of the city. “Should I be worried about being on my own out there?” she said.

  “No. The defenders are keeping to the north. They don’t want anything to do with us for the time being.”

  “All right. But if I get captured or killed on the way over there, I’m going to be really pissed.”

  Vedet didn’t respond. That was fine, though—since Klaus wasn’t around, she had to be flippant to someone, and it really didn’t matter if her target responded or not.

  It would have been nice to have Klaus there, though. She liked to talk things through, and she needed to decide on the best way to deal with Vedet and whatever secret he was guarding. When she finally tracked Klaus down, she would have to explain that being an aide meant being around when your boss needed aiding. But that was a matter for later. For now, she had to figure out who to tell whatever she found out and when she would tell them.

  Trillian stared for a time at her scanner as if that might help her make her decision, but all it told her was that Roderick’s troops were slowly moving forward.

  She knew that by following Vedet’s troops she’d be playing whatever game he had developed, and that held little appeal for her. But if he wanted to drag her into his scheme, it probably meant that he had an ace up his sleeve. To find out what it was, she needed to journey west.

  “Roderick, do you need me around here at the moment?” she said over the comm.

  “No, I don’t think so,” he said, then paused. “Who is this?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Sorry, Trill. No, I’m sure we’ll be fine. But keep in touch if any interesting information comes your way.”

  “You got it,” she said.

  It would at least give her an excuse to go faster than thirty kilometers per hour. She floored the accelerator and took her jeep over a field filled with grass and a few wildflowers. It was amazingly quiet here, considering the number of hostile troops that had just landed on the planet. There were a few puffy clouds in the sky, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. If you ignored the several hundred tons of metal walking around and the supercharged bolts of energy that would soon be flying everywhere, it would be a perfect day for a stroll.

  A few low-flying fighters and scout planes whined overhead, carving wide circles over New Edinburgh and the surrounding area. Trillian couldn’t see the markings on the planes, so she wasn’t sure which craft belonged to what army, but at least she knew none of them were Marik planes—she hadn’t seen a single shot fired yet.

  But she shouldn’t be looking at the sky. She needed to find Vedet. The ground was level enough that she should be able to cover the fifty kilometers to his forces in less than an hour. Sh
e kept her eye on her vehicle’s scanner, waiting for the first of his troops to show up.

  The drive was uneventful. Too uneventful, in fact. This was the start of a battle that could completely crush the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth. She shouldn’t be taking a peaceful drive through grassy fields. She should be…she should be…

  Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? What was acceptable behavior for destroying a nation? Burning down villages and smearing yourself with the ashes? Grabbing some sort of firearm, blasting it until you were out of ammunition, then grabbing another one? Writing individual notes to the billions of civilians in the nation to apologize for the inconvenience and welcome them into whatever nation they were now a part of?

  She probably didn’t need to worry about it. Conquest was an activity that built its own justifications. Winners of these kinds of wars seldom had difficulty eventually making whatever they had been doing look good.

  She was getting a headache. She stretched her neck this way and that, then decided it would be better if she tried to not think of anything for the next forty-five minutes.

  * * *

  When she caught up to the First Hesperus Guard, she was amazed it had taken her so long. They seemed practically stationary—tracking them down should have taken almost no time.

  What kind of battle is this? she asked herself. Doesn’t anyone charge into the breach anymore?

  She called the duke on the channel he had used to call her, assuming he’d be listening.

  “Duke Vedet? I somehow managed to catch up to your troops. Did they find any good picnic spots while they were tooling about the countryside?”

  “I wish I could tell you more about why I asked you to be here,” he said. “But it’s too early. And I hope you’ll understand that each and every one of my soldiers is under orders not to talk to you, so please stay out of their way.”

  “That’s all you’ve got for me? No fighting, no information and barely concealed hostility? I’m so glad I’m here.”

  “Stay long enough,” Vedet said, “and you will be.” Then the comm was silent.

  Trillian wasn’t convinced of the truth of that statement, but since it was clear that Vedet was up to something, she decided to keep an eye on him and see what it was. Hopefully he’d show his hand before the battle started raging out of control.

  She was drawing closer to the outskirts of the greater New Edinburgh area, and buildings were popping up with more regularity. They were plain but sturdy, brick and stone instead of the splintered wood that had been common on Helm. She thought she saw a face or two peeking out of windows at her, but maybe that was an illusion. Or wishful thinking.

  She kept to the back of the lines, weaving back and forth since forward motion was so minimal. She raced through fields and over roads, skirting around small towns so she wouldn’t have to deal with yards and fences and other minor inconveniences. On a few occasions she had to run parallel to small rivers and creeks until she found a bridge, but that just gave her the chance to look at the grassy banks and watch the water glisten in the sunlight. It was a shame that riverbanks just like these, if not these very spots, would soon be scarred with metal slugs and smoldering metal and maybe even wounded infantry looking for a drink. But then, there really was no way to make war environmentally friendly.

  Her reverie was interrupted by something in the distance. It was a building with a corrugated metal roof, reflecting sunlight as she drew closer to it. She thought it was some sort of a barn, but then realized that was a trick of perspective—it was farther away than she thought, which meant it was significantly larger than she had first guessed. It didn’t fit in with the landscape, and since she didn’t have anything else commanding her attention, she drove closer to it.

  The landscape changed as she drew closer. It took her a moment to place what it was she had noticed, and then she had it. There was an empty spot, a place where there were no buildings, plants or tall grass. It was right next to the metal building and, like the building, was quite large.

  She drove closer, and she saw blacktop and plenty of it, a few hundred meters on each end. It was rough on the edges and not entirely even, like it had been hastily steamrollered. Though it was imperfect, it was still large and smooth, and Trillian probably could have enjoyed herself for a time accelerating back and forth and spinning a few donuts. But it wouldn’t do to forget she was in a war zone, no matter how placid things were at the moment. Plus, there was the matter of the large metal building with the huge doors.

  She rolled to a stop and looked at her scanner. It showed a large building, but nothing more. She didn’t get any sign of active engines other than her own. Either there was nothing active in there, or the interior was well shielded.

  As she sat, she became convinced that this was why Vedet was here. Once she’d found his troops, she’d found this place pretty easily, and she didn’t think that was a coincidence.

  It also wasn’t hard to figure out what this was. There were not too many reasons to pave over a large field, and there was nothing in the immediate vicinity that required a parking lot this size. The tarmac wasn’t the right shape for an airstrip—it was almost a square, not a long rectangle. It was, however, about the right size for a DropShip, as was the hangar. Duke Vedet had found a temporary DropShip port that wasn’t on any maps she had seen or in any Loki reports.

  She cut her engine and thought once again that it would be good to have Klaus around. She was now at the point where she had stopped being angry at him and started being worried.

  While it would have been nice to bounce a few ideas off Klaus, she knew the decision she needed to make. This tarmac was something that could affect the way the battle was fought—who would go where and why. So the people who would be fighting should know about it.

  “Roderick, this is Trillian. Find any bad guys yet?”

  “A few. Saber Company is running around the suburbs and they’ve managed to scare up a few Silver Hawks. It’s like beating the bushes for grouse. Hasn’t been much in the way of fighting yet. The Silver Hawks let loose a few rounds and drop back. They’re not ready to engage us head-on yet.”

  “All right. If anything pops up that demands your attention, feel free to cut me off immediately.”

  “No offense, Trill, but I’d do that even if you didn’t say I could.”

  “Good. Look, I’ve found the First Hesperus Guards. They’re about fifty kilometers west-southwest of you. And they’ve found something.”

  “Do tell,” Roderick said.

  “A tarmac and a hangar. Looks for all the world like a temporary DropShip port.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup. And Vedet’s in no hurry to leave it. He’s acting like he’s going to be keeping an eye on it for a while.”

  “Because he thinks there will be something to see.”

  “You got it.”

  Roderick was silent for a few moments. Trillian used the time to determine that the scanner had nothing interesting to show her.

  Then Roderick spoke again. “What’s the security presence at the tarmac?”

  “Nonexistent.”

  “Get the hell out of here.”

  “I’m serious,” Trillian said. “I’ve been sitting on the tarmac for a few minutes and haven’t seen a soul.”

  “There’s something wrong about this. There’s got to be a DropShip sitting in the hangar—they’re not going to haul one across the city for takeoff.”

  “Okay.”

  “So you’re telling me they left a DropShip completely unguarded?”

  She looked again for Marik units guarding the building and saw only blue sky, green grass and blacktop. “That’s what it looks like. So what? It’s not like someone’s going to steal it and go joyriding.”

  “Steal it, no,” Roderick said. “Blow it up, yes. If there’s no security on a DropShip port, that pretty much means you don’t plan to use it. A quick strafing by a few bombers, and the port is completely neutralized.”


  “Maybe they thought it wouldn’t draw any attention. Since it’s not on the maps or anything.”

  “Maybe,” Roderick said, but he sounded dubious. “That’s a big risk to take, though. My guess is that if they really have a DropShip stored there and they plan to use it, it’s not for anything essential. Maybe to get some stragglers off the planet once the dust clears.”

  “Then why would Vedet care about it?”

  “Beats me. I’ve got enough to worry about here without trying to figure out how that man thinks.”

  “So I guess this means you’re not going to come over here and join him in watching an empty tarmac?”

  “Thanks for the invitation, but no.”

  “Okay. Just thought I’d pass the information along.”

  “I appreciate it, Trillian. Be careful out there—the fighting looks like it’s about to become a little more regular.”

  “You be careful too.”

  She looked northeast to see if she could see any signs of clashing troops, but any distant explosions were washed out by the brightness of the sun. Give it time, she thought.

  She drove her jeep off the tarmac, steering herself back to safety behind Duke Vedet’s lines. She thought Roderick’s analysis of the situation was sound, but something about the situation still nagged at her. Vedet thought he had something here, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

  27

  New Edinburgh, Stewart

  Marik-Stewart Commonwealth

  5 June 3138

  The word came down from different spotters—scouts on the ground, scouts in the air—but each time the word was the same. “Some of the troops are missing,” the scouts reported. “They’ve hidden them somewhere. They’ve got a decent-sized force on the ground, but it’s not as big as it should be. We can’t find the rest of them.”